Outside the Ye Mansion.
Ye Yu cupped his hands respectfully towards an elder and two middle-aged men in front of him. "City Lord Jiang, Patriarch Li, Patriarch Zhang, I apologize, but the Great Elder is resting at the moment and cannot see guests right now. However, if you are willing to wait for half an hour, he should be awake by then."
Patriarch Li, Li Yu, narrowed his eyes slightly. "Wait for half an hour?"
Ye Yu nodded slightly and smiled. "Of course, if you do not wish to wait, you are free to leave."
With that, he turned and left.
The current Ye family no longer needed to look at the faces of these three families. Although their overall strength was still weaker than that of the three families, every member of the Ye family firmly believed that in the near future, they would be the ones that the others could only look up to.
Seeing Ye Yu leave, the faces of Li Yu and the other two darkened instantly.
Li Yu said coldly, "The Ye family's Great Elder truly has an enormous sense of superiority now!"
Jiang Nian, the City Lord of Qing City, said calmly, "With Ye Lang on their side, they naturally feel they need not pay any attention to us."
Beside them, Zhang Lie, the head of the Zhang family, laughed. "This is truly a case of one person attaining the Dao, and even the chickens and dogs rise to the heavens. However, the Great Elder's arrogant and reckless behavior is not necessarily a good thing for the Ye family."
He glanced at Li Yu and Jiang Nian. "Gentlemen, we were hesitant about joining forces before, but it seems we have no choice now."
Jiang Nian and Li Yu exchanged glances. Soon, all three of them nodded. Clearly, the Ye family's attitude had forced them to unite.
Half an hour later, the three of them entered the Ye family's reception hall.
The Great Elder welcomed them, cupping his hands in greeting. "I apologize for keeping you waiting. I have been quite indulgent in sleep lately, and I neglected to receive you promptly. Please forgive me."
Jiang Nian smiled. "Not at all, Great Elder. You've been very busy recently. We understand completely."
The Great Elder laughed heartily. "Come, please have a seat."
After they sat down, the Great Elder glanced at them and smiled. "Since the three of you have come together today, I imagine there is something you wish to discuss?"
Li Yu smiled. "Naturally, we came to congratulate the Ye family on gaining a Chosen One. This is indeed a joyful event for Qing City. Congratulations!"
The Great Elder smiled. "Ye Lang has awakened and even triggered a heavenly omen—the heavens have blessed our Ye family."
He raised his teacup and took a light sip, then smiled. "Thank you for coming to congratulate Ye Lang."
At this moment, Patriarch Li stood up and cupped his hands. "Great Elder, in the past, there were many unpleasant incidents between our Li family and the Ye family. I hope the Ye family can forgive us."
Patriarch Zhang also stood and cupped his hands. "Great Elder, my Zhang family has also offended the Ye family in the past. I hope for your forgiveness."
The Zhang family and the Li family were once mortal enemies of the Ye family, especially the Zhang family, who had killed the previous heir of the Ye family.
But now, they had no choice but to bow their heads because the Ye family had produced a Chosen One—a Chosen One who could even trigger a heavenly omen. If they did not yield now, they might lose their heads in the future.
The Great Elder took a sip of tea without saying a word.
With his silence, the atmosphere in the room became heavy.
Zhang Lie looked over at Jiang Nian, who smiled slightly. "Great Elder, we are all from Qing City, and Qing City is a small place. We are bound to run into each other often. Now that the Ye family is destined to rise, your future opponents will certainly be the powerful noble families of the world, don't you think?"
The Great Elder smiled slightly. "Since Brother Jiang has spoken, what can I say? How about this—our Ye family has had a difficult time these past few years. Let us have the mining rights to the gold mines around Qing City for the next ten years. What do you say?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces darkened—they were furious.
Gold mines!
What did the noble families in Qing City rely on for survival? Naturally, the gold mines. The conflicts among the noble families were also over the mines, as there were a few around Qing City. Whenever a new mine was discovered, it inevitably led to deadly battles. No family wanted to let go, because the gold mines represented resources. Without resources, the higher-ups could not cultivate, and the lower members could not be trained. Ultimately, extinction would be inevitable.
Now, the Ye family wanted ten years of mining rights, which meant that the other families in Qing City would have no income for ten years!
Although this would not lead to their annihilation, they would essentially be living hand-to-mouth for those ten years.
Not far away, Jiang Nian took a glance at the Great Elder without saying a word, quietly sipping his tea. His eyes, however, were cold as ice.
Not only Jiang Nian, but the other two also looked extremely grim.
They had expected the Ye family to make demands, but they had not expected them to be so ruthless.
The Great Elder looked around at the crowd and smiled. "Rest assured, gentlemen, in ten years, Ye Lang will most likely become one of those 'people of the mountains.' By then..."
Hearing this, Jiang Nian and the others' expressions changed.
People of the mountains!
This referred to the secluded sects and forces. The Great Elder's words were clearly a threat, an undisguised threat.
If Ye Lang joined those forces, erasing them could indeed be done with a flick of a finger.
Realizing this, Jiang Nian and the others exchanged glances. Finally, Jiang Nian stood and cupped his hands. "Since the Ye family is in need, the mining rights to the gold mines around Qing City for the next ten years will belong to the Ye family."
The Great Elder smiled and cupped his hands. "Thank you very much."
Jiang Nian nodded. "We shall take our leave."
With that, the three of them turned and left.
Ye Yu entered the hall after they left, his expression solemn. "Great Elder, this will certainly offend them all."
"Offend?"
The Great Elder sneered. "Should the Ye family fear offending them now? Once Ye Lang becomes one of those 'people of the mountains,' erasing them will take no time at all. Asking for ten years of mining rights is already showing great mercy."
With that, he turned and left, his sleeves sweeping behind him.
...
Outside the Ye Mansion.
As soon as Jiang Nian and the others stepped out, their expressions became ferocious.
"This is intolerable!"
Zhang Lie snarled, "The Ye family wants to eliminate us now that they have gained power!"
Li Yu said coldly, "With Ye Lang able to trigger a heavenly omen, the Ye family doesn't even consider us or the City Lord's Mansion in their eyes."
Jiang Nian shook his head. "No more talk. We have no choice but to endure this for now. Go back to your respective homes, and we'll see what happens next. Don't be anxious. A flower does not stay red for a hundred days. The Ye family's arrogance will lead to their downfall."
With that, they turned and disappeared at the gates of the Ye Mansion.
...
With the Li family, Zhang family, and City Lord's Mansion yielding, the Ye family immediately grew even more inflated.
In the past, the Ye family had to bow and scrape before these three powers, but now, due to Ye Lang, every member of the Ye family had newfound confidence—great confidence!
Many of the younger members of the Ye family began to regard themselves as part of Qing City's number one noble family. Not only did the younger members think this way, but even the elders believed it.
At this time, almost everyone held Ye Lang in high regard, but many also thought of Ye Xuan.
"Did you hear? Ye Xuan hasn't left his courtyard for a long time."
"Would he dare? Who would Ye Lang fear among the younger generation of Qing City? No, who would he fear among the younger generation of Jiang Country? As for Ye Xuan, he's not even fit to carry Ye Lang's shoes."
"True. If he had just bowed his head and admitted his mistakes back then, he could have kept his life."
"Who cares about his life or death? Do you know how glorious it is to be a member of the Ye family now? Yesterday, I ran into a young master from the Zhang family, and I slapped him across the face. He didn't even dare to say a word!"
"Haha, yesterday I ran into the heir of the Li family at the Yichun House. He used to have eyes only for Ye Xuan, but yesterday, when I told him to get lost, he did without even saying a word. It was so satisfying!"
"Indeed. In Qing City now, our Ye family calls the shots. It's all thanks to Brother Ye Lang. Come on, let's go visit Brother Ye Lang..."
...
Inside the Tower of Trials.
Ye Xuan was wielding the Lingxiao Sword, slashing tirelessly.
He practiced like a madman.
To Ye Xuan, what mattered most now was becoming a true swordsman. Having grown up relying only on his sister, he understood the importance of strength. Especially after recent events, he understood even more clearly: a person without power was truly less than a dog!
Even though he had done so much for the Ye family, given so much, they discarded him without hesitation.
One could only rely on oneself!
Inside the tower, Ye Xuan had swung his sword countless times, and now he could cut a hair in a single stroke. One could say he was now a Sword Cultivator.
But it wasn't good enough!
His current mastery of speed and strength was only enough to make him an ordinary Sword Cultivator. He was still a step away from being a Great Sword Cultivator.
Time passed quickly without notice while training, and soon, there were only three days left until his life-and-death duel with Ye Lang.
On this day, Ye Xuan emerged from the Tower of Trials. As soon as he stepped out, he frowned. Normally, Ye Ling would come to bring him food by now.
Something had happened?
Ye Xuan rushed to Ye Ling's room, where he found her lying on the bed, trembling, her hair covered in frost.
Seeing this, Ye Xuan's expression changed drastically. He rushed over and pulled out a white jade bottle, but it was empty!
The medicine was gone!
Ye Xuan slapped himself hard. "Damn it! I forgot the medicine ran out. Damn it!"
He slapped himself again, then gently rubbed Ye Ling's cheek, his voice trembling. "Hold on, hold on, Brother will be right back!"
With that, he rushed out of the room like a madman, heading straight for the Ye family's medicine hall.
"Ye Xuan is out!"
When they saw Ye Xuan, some members of the Ye family immediately spread the news. Many who were looking for trouble quickly gathered to block his path.
In the past, they wouldn't have dared, but now, with Ye Lang's rise, the younger members of the Ye family no longer feared Ye Xuan.
On the way, a group of Ye family members suddenly blocked Ye Xuan's path. Leading them was Ye Feng, the grandson of the Great Elder and Ye Lang's cousin.
Ye Feng looked Ye Xuan up and down and sneered, "Ye Xuan, hiding for so many days, what brings you out today?"
Ye Xuan ignored him and continued toward the medicine hall, but Ye Feng quickly moved to block his path again, smirking. "Ye Xuan, in such a rush... is your sickly sister about to die? If so, I should congratulate you in advance. After all, you'll have one less burden. You..."
Suddenly, Ye Xuan lunged forward, catching Ye Feng off guard, and punched him in the throat.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking echoed.
Everyone present was petrified.
Ye Feng's eyes bulged, his pupils shattering.
Ye Xuan then drew a dagger from his waist and slit Ye Feng's throat.
Squelch!
Ye Feng's head fell to the ground.
Ye Xuan sheathed his dagger, his expression ferocious as he looked at the others. "If anyone dares say anything about my sister again, I'll make sure you have nothing left to say for the rest of your life!"